Chapter V: A Darkness Approaches

Nyssa would be lying to herself is she said tonight went exactly as planned.

She had already arranged for transportation to return home to Nanda Parbat, and was currently making her way through The Glades after confronting her former beloved and The Arrow. Jumping from roof to roof as silently as possible, as her mind replayed the events that caused her to return without Sarah. She had failed to convince her former lover to return to The League, to return to her, and she had somehow convinced Nyssa to release her from the grip of her father. Sarah was now free to live in the city however she pleased and never had to return to her life as an assassin. To never be with Nyssa ever again. Because she would choose her family and friends, over the woman who was closer to her than anyone else on the planet and who helped her through her darkest moments.

But still, Nyssa would have to admit that this night could have been far worse. It could have ended with her neck being snapped by The Arrow, the bruises she had gotten still stung, and she would have to get her other injuries treated when she returned. Thankfully, the same woman who had caused her so much trouble and anger was ironically the one to save her. Even after she kidnapped and threatened her family, Sarah still rescued her, which had to mean she still cared for her if only a little bit. She continued to run across the old roofs, the myriad of different emotions brewing within her festered, and she sighed. She had to wonder how one girl had such a grip on her heart.

As she was walking, she thought she had heard footsteps coming somewhere behind her. She swerved around, her fingers already reaching for her arrows as she drew her bow and aimed it. Only to realize, there was no one behind her, the only sounds she heard now was the wind blowing off the dust from the roofs. For several seconds she stood still, her bow still aimed at seemingly nothing and her hands gripping one of her arrows. Eventually, after several more moments, she relaxed and placed her bow over her shoulder, and continued to sprint across the roof. She was being paranoid, the results from fighting for so long. There was no way The Arrow or any of his allies would try to attack her, not after she released Sarah and was leaving the city. They wouldn't risk Ra's al ghoul sending his army of assassins to burn their city to the ground.

The thought of her father made her frown deepen. How exactly was she going to explain why she released one of the league's top assassins? She could already feel the glare her father would give her when she arrived back home. It was a look that could make grown soldiers tremble, and make others slice their throats before he even uttered a word.

And she was going to have to sit through that. Maybe she should just put an arrow in her head, it would be faster and less painful than whatever tirade her father had in store for her. Not that it would help much, for even in death, the master of The League could find new ways of making her-

There it was again. This time, there were no footsteps, no sounds, not even a breeze, but she knew something was behind her. It was the feeling of the hairs on her neck standing up, the sensation warning her that there was someone standing right behind her. The instincts she had gained from being trained as an assassin since she was born that told her to strike.

She turned around and drew her arrow so fast that most people wouldn't be able to follow her movements, and then fired. She had aimed at nothing, at least that's what her eyes told her, but she had seen so many things she had learned to not always trust her eyes. They can easily be deceived as any average person can be killed.

And as the arrow sliced through the air, something impossible happened.

For seemingly no reason, the arrow suddenly split in half, a loud chopping sound rang in the air.

Her father had taught her always to expect the unexpected, always to adapt to whatever situation she encountered, but this was something no amount of training could prepare her for. Normally Nyssa was someone who never allowed her emotions to show on her features, always keeping the same neutral expression on her face no matter who she was facing. Now, however, her eyes widened as the broken pieces of her arrow landed with a bounce on the ground.

Her body moving on its own, she drew another arrow from her quiver and fired with lightning speed, launching her arrow in the same direction as the one before it. Her arrow was not split in half this time, but it didn't seem to hit anything either. The deadly projectile continued to fly through the air until it impaled itself in the doors of an access stairwell.

The fact that her arrow missed meant one of two things. Either her mysterious opponent had decided to flee... Or had dodged and now was waiting for another chance to strike.

She instantly went on guard, muscles tensing as she drew another arrow and pulled back her bowstring. Her face was once again emotionless, but on the inside she was incredibly anxious, turning her head in every direction to see if she could catch even the tiniest glimpse of her enemy. Her heart was beating wildly in her chest, her grip tightening on her bow as she looked around the roof. She pushed all her senses to their absolute limit, listening for even the smallest of creaks as she prepared to fire her arrow at even the slightest hint of her enemy. There was an inkling of fear of facing someone who could camouflage himself building inside her chest, but she squashed that feeling into nothing. If her opponent thought he could get the drop on her, he would be sorely mistaken. She was the heir to the demon, the best assassin in the League and she would not be defeated again.

But even with all her training, even with her using all her skills she had gathered as an assassin, all her senses told her the same thing. She was alone on the rooftop, and there was nothing else here. They told her the only thing on the roof were the shadows, but she knew there was something else in the darkness.

In the next second, everything part of her body was screaming at her to move right now! Without even thinking, she leaped from her spot to the right, something slicing against her hip as she jumped.

The searing pain she suddenly felt made her bite her tongue to prevent herself from shouting. Blood flowed from her hip as she quickly landed back on her feet, drawing another arrow onto her bow and fired again. The arrow flew towards the spot she had stood on, but it only hit air as it went over the roof and out of view. Nyssa let out a curse, trying to ignore the pain coming from her side as she tried to find her enemy. Once again there was nothing else on the roof except her, but somehow her enemy was hiding from her when he shouldn't be able to. From what she had seen, or not seen in this case, her opponent could somehow make himself invisible. And not only that but when he did strike he was as silent as the night.

A quick glance to her wound and she saw that it was a deep gash on her side, the kind a person could only get from a sword. So not only was she fighting someone she can't see, she was fighting someone with a blade she couldn't see. Someone with the skills to wield with deadly efficiency.

But even against all these odds, she was still ready to fight.

She placed a hand on top of her wound before flicking said appendage. Tiny spots of blood propelled through the air, most hitting the dusty floor but several specks did not. Instead, they seemed to crash against something solid, the bits of her blood looking like they were floating in mid-air. The spots floated about ten feet away from her, and now that she had a target, she loaded an arrow onto her bow and fired. Her arrow cut through the air until it was sliced in half, but Nyssa wasn't finished yet. She loaded another arrow onto her bow and fired, and when that arrow left her bow she launched two more in a matter of seconds. Three deadly arrows hurled towards their invisible target, but at seemingly the same time, all three arrows were cut down. It happened in the blink of an eye, and just as Nyssa aimed another arrow at her foe, the blood spots that were stuck on the invisible warrior were wiped away into nothing.

Once again it appeared that Nyssa was alone on the old roof top, and once again the darkness surrounded her with its unbreakable grip on this night. The shadows were the only thing keeping her company as she fought for her life.

The only sound Nyssa heard was that of her own blood slowly and periodically dripping onto the floor. Nyssa thought about using this delay in combat to escape but knew if she tried to run she would have no idea where her enemy was or where he would strike from. So instead, she slowly walked backwards, her bow held out in front of her as her hawk-like eyes looked for even the slightest sign of movement. She ignored the burning pain in her hips as she reached a corner of the roof, behind her nothing but an alley and another building about fifteen feet away. With narrowed eyes she waited, knowing that she had positioned herself so that her invisible foe could only attack her in one direction-

The only thing she heard was the wind breaking apart as if something was moving through the air behind her, but that was more than enough of a warning. She immediately turned and fired her arrow upwards into the sky, and her arrow was immediately split down the middle.

And then Nyssa heard something land a few feet behind her with a soft thump. Just as she was about to turn and fire another arrow, her eyes widened as she stopped moving. Blood dripped from her lips as she let go her bow and it crashed onto the ground. Slowly, she looked down at her body and saw a large diagonal gash that ran from her left shoulder to her right hip. Blood was pouring out of the wound and leaked through her torn clothing as her entire body was suddenly lit with agonizing pain.

She collapsed onto her knees, trying not to vomit her own blood as the pain raging through her body only grew. More of her own blood was pooling onto the filth covered roof as her body was beginning to feel numb.

"Not... Possible..." Her mind trailed off as her vision started to fail her. Darkness was creeping at the corners of her eyes as she felt the deep slash on her chest grow worse. She had to get up now! Her opponent had gotten her, delivered an almost fatal wound to her, and the part that scared Nyssa was how. She would have heard her opponent climb down the roof and climb back up the building's walls behind her before jumping to attack her. The walls of every building in the Glades were old and decaying; she would have heard the bricks crumble beneath the warrior's feet if he had tried to climb any of the walls of any buildings near her. It didn't matter how quiet a person could be; she would have heard him if he had tried to climb any of the adjacent buildings.

Which meant her invisible foe had dropped down from the rooftop and landed on the road without a sound; and then jumped twenty feet to land on the building right behind her, right before jumping the huge gap between the two buildings to slice her back. All of this in under a minute.

Nothing alive could have done that, nothing could have jumped such great distances without damaging their body. No matter what gear or any training a person went through, nothing could be so fast and quiet. This.. Thing was something else entirely.

Her entire body was in agony, but still, she tried to stand up. Just as she pushed off the ground, something slammed into her gut with the force of ten men. Her body was sent careening backward against the hard floor as her quiver fell off her shoulders. Arrows littered the roof until she crashed against the ledge. She coughed up blood, as she struggled to breathe. She knew her ribs were broken, feeling her chest constrict with every bloody breath she took.

Her eyelids felt heavy; her entire body fell into a hazy dream like state. But even in her daze she knew her foe was now standing right above her, she didn't hear it and she still could not see it, but the way her neck hairs stood on edge told her that her camouflaged opponent was there., looking down at her as she continued to bleed. The thought infuriated her to her very core; her enemy was treating her like a bug one would squish and watch the last bits of life fade away as it continued to thrash and squirm. Even though her entire body was still in agonizing pain, even though she was loosing far to much blood, she wanted now more than ever to kill the thing in front of her for being so arrogant.

She refused to let her opponent win; she refused to accept this as her fate.

She felt something grab her wrist, it felt like a hand to Nyssa, but it also felt cold and metallic, and she was slowly lifted up from the floor. Whatever she was facing seemed to have no problems with lifting a human being with little effort. She knew she had to think of something to escape this thing's grasp, and that was when she noticed the arrows scattered everywhere on the roof. Just as the rest of her body was hoisted from the roof, she grabbed the sharpest arrow she could see, and with such speed and strength that it seemed like she was uninjured, stabbed it at whatever was grabbing her hand.

She expected blood to come out, not sparks. There was a horrible sound of metal being crushed screaming into the night. Her arrow looked like it was floating as more blue lights of fire came from her invisible foes wound.

The thing's hand let her wrist go as she landed in a crouch. Pushing past the pain, she stood up and pulled out the arrow stabbed at where she assumed the thing's chest was. More sparks flew out right before she jumped as high as she could before snapping her leg at where the sparks continued to flow. Her kick connected and it felt like she was hitting a brick wall, but she heard a loud thump as something crashed onto the floor. She landed in a squat, careful not to step over the ledge of the roof, letting out a painful groan as she shakily got up and lifted her head.

And then Nyssa finally saw the warrior she had been facing, no longer unseeable and finally visible. The thing's blood red eyes would forever take up haunt her mind.

And then it charged at her, no longer worrying about stealth and simply wanting to end this battle now. More sparks hit the ground as the thing dashed towards her, already halfway across the roof in a second. Nyssa clutched the arrow in her hand, now her only weapon, as she felt more of her blood drip onto the roof. She was to injure to try and dodge, and she couldn't jump down since she was too high up. So this was her last stand. If she didn't strike this thing down now, her death would be guaranteed. She was losing enough blood that would make most die, the gashes on her body only seeming to grow in pain, and she was so close to collapsing she felt like she would fall and go into a dreamless sleep at any moment. But she would still kill this monster here and now.

She was Nyssa al Ghul, and she would not die tonight!

Just as her red-eyed foe was a few feet away from her, she stabbed her arrow forward, intent on plunging it into this things face.

Only for it to disappear again. Not because it turned invisible, but because in an instant it moved so fast it blurred, and Nyssa's eyes could not follow such quick movements and only hit the air with her arrow. And not even a second later, a blade as black as the night pierced her chest.

She looked down, eyes wide with shock, at the sword cutting through her body, unable to move or feel anything as her entire body seemed to shut down. Slowly, the katana was pulled out of her chest, and not a moment later Nyssa fell backwards.

Right off the building.

The wind collided with her skin, rushing at her as she continued to fall before she finally hit the ground. There was a horrible squelching sound as her body landed in the alley. She could feel all of her bones shattering from the impact.

It didn't hurt nearly as much as she thought it would, there was only an emptiness inside her that continued to grow and would not stop. Her eyes were hollow, the light that used to surround her dark brown eyes was all but gone. Her world was slowly becoming nothing but darkness, barely able to see anything as her eyelids started to close forever.

A tiny fraction of her mind that was still functioning realized that she was going to die. She was going to die in an alley, like a rat. The thought would have made her livid if she wasn't coughing up blood. Of all the ways she had expected to die, being defeated by an invisible freak was at the bottom of her list. As she felt more of her own life slip away, she wasn't scared by her imminent demise. She had never feared death, she knew it would come to her someday, most likely sooner than others. The only regret she had was that she would never see Sarah again.

That and the bastard who did this wasn't also dead with her.

And just as her eyes were almost completely shut, and her vision all but gone, she saw someone strode towards her. it wasn't the thing that had beaten her, this was someone else. She could not make out any of the person's features amidst the darkness that swallowed her sight. The person looked down at her dying body and said two words. And to her, the voice sounded distorted yet smooth, dripping with malevolence and promising pain.

"You'll do." And then the person lifted their hand over her body, and through the darkness, she saw something drip from his hand and splash into her wound. A moment later, She wasn't sure why, but for some reason, she felt... Powerful. Almost like she wasn't about to die.

And then darkness consumed her, and the last she remembered was a horrible, ear-piercing laugh.

A Samurai's Journey

(Two Weeks Later)

"You're sure about this?" Felicity asked over the radio. Oliver didn't need to see her face to tell she was incredibly nervous, and he couldn't blame her for feeling that way. Even for them, this mission was dangerous.

"I'm positive," Oliver replied, tapping a finger into his ear. "Everyone in position?"

The Arrow was standing at the edge of a rooftop in the Glades, looking down towards an old factory that loomed over several smaller apartments. Even at night, Oliver could see the corroded metal peeling off the walls and the holes that were littered across the building's skin. This factory had been abandoned since the earthquake had hit. The factory wasn't the only thing to be left behind, as most of the buildings and houses in this district had become unsafe, forcing everyone who either lived or worked here to leave.

It was the perfect place to hide if someone was looking to avoid attention.

"I'm in near the back door to the factory Oliver," Diggle said, and Oliver could hear him moving along the gravel pavement. "Ready whenever you are, man."

"And I'm on the roof, Ollie." Another voice called out, Sarah's voice. "I don't see anything, but If this guy tries to escape, I'll be here to stop him." Oliver didn't need to see her to know she was already clutching her batons. "Just give me the signal and I'll strike."

"Good." The Arrow said. "John, wait for my signal to break in. Sarah, back us up the moment you see an opening to take this guy down." And knowing what their target was capable of, even with all three of them fighting they might not win.

For the man they had been tracking had taken down Roy.

When Thea had first told him Roy had gone missing, the first thing he did was have Felicity check the city's cameras, and they had gotten a hit. They saw camera footage of Roy beating a man almost to death before knocking out Sin with one swing of his arm. And then they had seen the black haired man, who had been at the warehouse were Oliver was poisoned, approach Roy. They saw him fighting Roy to a standstill with his katana before they vanished from the camera's view. When they reappeared, the samurai had for some reason sheathed his sword and instead used his fist to fight Roy.

And then not only did they saw him make Roy bleed, they saw him overpower him and then defeat the Mirakuru infused teen. The man had barely gotten injured at all. He then picked up Roy and left the parking lot, and had somehow avoided being caught on any other cameras.

Everyone present could not believe what they just saw. They couldn't believe a seemingly average man was able to beat someone who could punch holes in trucks. Oliver was the most shocked, having seen the full damage a person could do with the Mirakuru in their system. So seeing someone easily beat Roy made Oliver put this stranger at the very top of his list. He was far more dangerous than anyone had first thought. Adding in the fact that this man took Roy, God knows where, and how he might know who the Arrow was made him a threat that had to be taken down immediately.

Ever since then, he had and his friends had been looking non-stop for the young teen. Unfortunately, The team had been busy dealing with other issues. From trained assassins who had a grudge against Sarah to a genius bank thief, the criminals of Starling City made it hard for Oliver and his team to have any time to figure out what had happened to Roy. It seemed the universe was hell bent on making their mission to find Roy as difficult as possible.

When they did have the time to search for Roy, they had come up with nothing, as if Roy had just vanished into thin air. Oliver, Sarah, and John had interrogated every criminal they had beaten, asking them if they had seen someone who might even partially resemble Roy or the man with the sword, but still nothing. Oliver had been afraid that even if they did find Roy, Roy would no longer be same the stubborn and hot headed boy he had first met. He was afraid the drug had turned Roy into someone else, someone not even remotely resembling the man he once was.

He was also afraid that the man who had taken him was plotting something sinister, and would use Roy for whatever he needed him for.

It had been a long two weeks of worry and paranoia, but it seemed like they had finally gotten a break. Felicity had found out where the man had been hiding thanks to a traffic camera. The footage was about two weeks old, but it showed the man carrying Roy and entering the old factory, right before the camera turned to black. A quick search on her computer later and she had found the address. Oliver didn't need to be told anything else as he knew what to do now.

And so within the hour his team had suited up, Oliver packing his more lethal arrows, each one now with reinforced tips that could pierce steel with some that had even stronger points, and was about to raid the factory.

"Everyone, be ready for anything," Oliver said, as he loaded a zip line arrow and fired it at the building. His aim was true and it perched right above a cracked window, a long, black cable now hanging in between his bow and the factory. "We have no idea how strong this man is, so be on guard for-"

Then he felt something, it was a familiar sensation he had experienced countless of times. A small chill going up his spine, the way his heart seemed to slow down if only for a second. They were such small and subtle signs that most men would not notice these warnings, but to Oliver, he knew what his body was trying to tell him.

He was being watched.

He whipped his head behind him, expecting someone about to attack him, but instead was only greeted with the familiar sights of a barren rooftop. A water tank and old ventilation units were the only things beside himself that occupied the apartment.

And this made him feel nervous.

"Felicity, do you see anyone near me?" Oliver tapped his earpiece, his eyes scanning the roof he was standing on and all the roofs surrounding him.

"No," she answered almost immediately. "Why?"

"You're sure?" It could be just his nerves, it could be just his paranoia getting the better than him, but the sensation he had just felt made him question if he was truly alone right now. He knew what it was like to have someone watching you from a distance, to have a pair of eyes gaze holes into you. His hands were slowly moving towards his arrows as he waited for Felicity to respond.

"Yeah, nothing's on the camera," Felicity sounded anxious, picking up on Oliver's sudden distress. "Oliver, do you see someone?"

And then the feeling was gone as quickly as it came. The hairs on his neck no longer stood, but he still searched the roof for a sign of... Something else being here.

"John, Sarah, do you see anything suspicious on your end?" He asked. His instincts were almost never wrong, and right now they were screaming at him that someone was nearby.

"There's nothing on my end," John answered.

"I haven't seen anyone here," Sarah said, "Is something wrong?"

Oliver looked at the factory, then look behind him one last time. "...No, It's nothing." If someone was really nearby, this person would have already tried to strike him. No one saw anything, and he would be lying to himself if he said the last few weeks hadn't been draining him. He had barely slept at all since Roy had been taken, so perhaps he might have been imagining things. But he had to be sure...

"There's nothing on any of your camera's, Felicity?" Oliver asked again, "Absolutely no signs of anyone moving or anything?"

"Yeah, I triple checked," Oliver heard her typing on her keyboard. "There's been no one coming out of the factory and no ones walked into the part of the Glades you're in. Nothing could have gotten by without me seeing them." There was a pause. "But if you think something's wrong, maybe we should cancel the mission?"

"No," Oliver replied firmly, "We're still doing continuing the mission, this might be our only chance to get some answers." Whatever he had felt, Oliver had to put it aside right now for the task at hand. It wouldn't do him or his friends any favors if he let his paranoia delude him into believing there were threats when there weren't. "We're still doing the mission, does everyone understand?" There was a slight lull before everyone responded with a "Yes" at almost the exact same time.

"All right, then let's go," Oliver ran off the building, and as he fell activated the reeling mechanism on his bow. The cable connecting the bow and arrow on the wall retracted, and Oliver was sent swinging through the air in a low arc right up towards the window. He braced himself for the impact as his body shattered the glass into hundreds of pieces.

Now inside the factory, he landed on top of a scaffold that was located right under the now destroyed window. Not wasting any time, the Arrow quickly loaded an arrow into his bow and took his stance as he examined the room he had just broke into.

Just like the outside, the inside was just as deteriorated. The pipes were unhinged from the walls, the floors and ceiling had cracks and dust scattered everywhere. Large, bulky and square like machinery was distributed along the floor. It was so dark that Oliver had to take a moment to let his eyes adjust in order to see properly. Conveyor belts stretched across the room as Oliver walked along the planks with his bow still drawn. He scanned the room for any signs of Roy or the man, and noticed something. It was hard to tell what exactly it was, but he knew it wasn't something that belongs in a factory.

He placed his arrow back in his quiver before jumping off the walkway. He grabbed one of its legs to slow his descent and slid down to the floor. He had landed near a group of rats, and his presence had scared them enough to flee deeper into the building. He walked a short distance until he reached the object he had seen, crouching down next to the heavy machinery.

What he saw was a bloody wrap of bandages, which he proceeded to pick up and examine. It was most likely Roy's, remembering how injured he had seen Roy on the camera and seeing the bandage covered in dry blood. He looked around the machine to see if there was anything else but found nothing. With his bow still clutched tightly, he walked through several rows of identical bulky machines and corroding pipes but found nothing.

"John, break in now," Oliver said through his radio. He knew going in it was unlikely, but still, he hoped that maybe Roy was in another part of the factory. "If you do see him, do not engage, call Sarah and I for back up do you understand?"

"..." The only reply he had gotten was static.

"John?" Oliver said, once again getting nothing but static. "Felicity, is there something wrong with the communicator?"

"From what I can tell everything's working fine," Felicity responded, "John? Do you read?" Again there was no response. "Something's wrong on John's end, Oliver I think you need to check on him."

"All right," Oliver said, as he moved through the machines surrounding him. He made a left back to the scaffold, entering a cramped space between a wall and one of the bigger machines. "Sarah move in, somethings wrong with John, he's not answering, and we need to see what's wrong." Oliver waited for Sarah to respond, but just like John, there was no response.

"... Sarah, do you read? Sarah? Sarah?" Dread was starting to boil in his blood, but he tried to ignore it. His friends were fine, there was no way anyone could be taken them out so quickly. "Felicity, something's wrong, can you see John or Sarah through the cameras?"

"Um, Hold on," Felicity said, and after a moment Oliver heard her gasp. "Oh God."

"What," Oliver asked, hearing how shocked Felicity sounded, "Felicity, what the hell's going on!"

"Oliver they're down!" Felicity shouted, "John and Sarah are down, something got them and their bleeding like crazy, you have to help them!"

For a moment Oliver couldn't breathe. He was shocked, the feeling of dread that had been building inside him was now coursing through every fiber of his body. His friends were attacked, and he might be too late to save them. Just like how he failed to save Slade and Shado on the island. No, he couldn't fail again, he couldn't-

Suddenly, the feeling he was being watched returned, and Oliver was hit with such an intense fear it felt as if a demon was standing right behind him.

Without even thinking, he loaded an arrow into his bow, whipped around and fired it. He had no idea what he was aiming at, but ever part of his body was screaming at him to attack or else.

And as he watched his arrow pierce the air, he saw it get split in half by seemingly nothing. The arrow that had been fine a moment ago was now broken in two as the remains hit the floor. Like someone had cut it in half.

Oliver had seen a lot of things in his life, some of those things defied what most people saw as possible, so instead of questioning what was going on, he pulled out another arrow at his quiver and fired. Though this time instead of using a regular arrow, he used his flashbang arrow.

The arrow collided against something, and then exploded in a brilliant shower of sparks. And in that moment he saw something, he wasn't exactly sure what but he saw something when the sparks erupted. It looked like a person, just covered in black robes, but once the sparks faded Oliver saw nothing and only heard something hitting the opposite wall.

Not wanting to give his enemy a chance to strike, Oliver jumped on top of the machine right next to him before firing his grappling hook arrow at the rafters. He needed time to assess what it was he was fighting, so he decided to run away and form a plan. He activated the reeling mechanism and was quickly moving up into the air before cutting the cable when he was right above the scaffold and landed in a crouch. He quickly stood up, running towards the end of the platform and arriving at the broken window and felt the scaffold lurch on its sides. Like something else just landed on the planks.

Oliver instantly went to draw another grappling arrow and fired it towards a large sign right across on an opposite building, and just as he was propelled through the air, he felt something partially slice into his sides as he bit back a curse. Still shooting through the air, he went through the window and back outside. He then cut the cable and spun in mid-air, and while he spiraled, he pulled out an explosive arrow from his quiver, took aim and fired it back into the factory.

The bolt traveled through the window right before a small fireball lit up the factory, small embers of fire burning the bricks and windows as an orange glow filled the road.

When he landed, he rolled on the deserted street to reduce the impact and quickly got up. The Arrow drew from his quiver again, loading another arrow into his bow and taking his stance. He knew his enemy was still alive.

"Oliver?!" He heard Felicity shout into his ear. "Oliver, what the hell is going on?!"

"Someone's in the factory," Oliver answered, "Someone who can literally turn invisible."

"What?!" if it were possible, Felicity somehow sounded more panicked than before. "Oliver, that's impossible, there shouldn't be anything like that on the planet with-"

"Felicity," Oliver interrupted curtly before his genius friend went on a ramble, especially now when he needed to concentrate. "Trust me when I say there are some things in this world that redefine the meaning of impossible."

He was still watching the window he came from, watching the flames consume it until it was completely covered in fire. He replayed what had just happened in his mind, now trying to figure out what exactly it was he had just faced. He didn't have much time to think, however, as something burst from the window and jumped into the air. To Oliver, it looked like a person made entirely of flames, holding a sword of fire over his head as he headed towards Oliver.

Oliver reacted quickly and fired his arrow, but unfortunately, the man swung his sword down and cut the arrow in half. The man was already pulling his sword back for another swing, hurling down towards the hooded vigilante like a fireball. Oliver rolled out of the way, the sword just missing his head. He continued to roll until he was a good distance away, jumped up, and loaded another arrow onto his bow. The moment he touched the street, he turned and fired his arrow at the flaming man and it hit him in the center of his chest.

The arrow Oliver had just used was his tranquilizer arrow, pumped with enough sedatives to knock a grown man out for a month. He was confident that this would end the fight, only to hear something akin to nails scratching on a chalkboard ring through the streets. Oliver saw the man on fire standing as if nothing was wrong, seemingly fine even while on fire and having an arrow sticking out of his chest. And that's when Oliver realized what the sound was, it was the sound of the needles trying to penetrate the man's body to inject the serum but couldn't; like they were scratching against something harder than their reinforced tips.

It was then Oliver saw the man's eyes. They were deep, blood red, horrible eyes staring right at him through the flames that swallowed him, and Oliver refused to look away. But it wasn't the color that unsettled Oliver, but what was behind them. Those were the eyes of something that could not feel. Something that had never once felt anything, not a single emotion, in its existence. Oliver was starting to wonder what exactly it was he was fighting because it sure as hell wasn't a human.

The thing in front of him pulled out the arrow from his chest with one hand, and then proceeded to crush it. Bits of the arrow fell to the ground as the flames surrounding the thing slowly faded, and the man also began to disappear from Oliver's sight. Oliver loaded another arrow and quickly fired, trying to hit the thing before it once again became invisible, but the fire consuming the thing had already been extinguished and the thing had vanished. His arrow sliced through the air and missed the thing, and it plunged into the side of a building.

The Arrow was left alone in the empty streets, his bow drawn as he took his stance and his eyes scanned every inch of the road, trying to figure out where the thing was.

"Felicity," Oliver said, "Can you see where that thing went?"

"Um.." Felicity began, most likely a little shocked at what she had just seen. But not even a second later, Oliver heard her typing on her computer. Felicity knew how to focus on a mission, even when said mission takes a turn for the strange. "Oh, are you kidding me!

"Felicity?"

"Whatever's making that thing invisible, it can somehow hide from every form of the electromagnetic spectrum! Infrared, ultraviolet, X-ray, none of that is picking up anything but you! And I don't think whatever you're fighting decided to just up and leave.

Perfect, Oliver thought as a bead of cold sweat began to drip down his forehead. He was using every bit of training and experience he had, listening for the tiniest sounds, looking through every shadow and trying to find movement, to try figure out where this thing was, but he came up with nothing. And since Felicity couldn't find it with her computers, that meant this thing could strike at any time, and Oliver would have no idea when.

But he had been in situations far worse than this, and he would defeat this thing.

Oliver then heard something crushed one of the shards of glass that had scattered about the streets when he blew up the factory window. In an instant, He dived to the right, just as something very sharp cut a long tear in his jacket, almost tearing into his flesh had he not dodged. Undeterred, Oliver quickly got up and fired another explosive arrow at the spot where he stood. The arrow traveled through the air before detonating, but it hit nothing. However, when it exploded the flames dispersed through the air, setting ablaze the streets and some of the embers clung onto his invisible foe who Oliver could now partially see was charging right at him.

Seeing that he had no time to dodge, Oliver loaded another arrow, this one a special diamond tip arrow he had designed just to take down Mirakuru infused men. He fired, but the thing was able to duck underneath the arrow and continued to rush towards him. Oliver tried to load another arrow, but his chest suddenly felt like it was hit by a small bus and was sent flying. He careened through the air until he hit the hood of a small car, leaving a dent on the metal as he crashed face first onto the ground. Oliver could feel the welts beginning to form on his chest, thankful he had upgraded his armor or else he might have broken his ribs.

Pushing past the pain, Oliver quickly got up, but his opponent was gone. The thing had gotten rid of the flames from the explosion, and had completely disappeared. Oliver knew he had to find some way to counter this thing's invisibility now or else he would not live a moment longer. But Felicity couldn't help him, the thing had already taken out John and Sarah, and he didn't have any arrows on hand that could help-

Wait, that wasn't true. He remembered the first time he had actually seen a little of what the thing looked like, its invisibility had stopped working right after he had fired his flashbang-

Without wasting another second another second, Oliver loaded his flashbang arrow, pointed his bow at the sky and fired. The dark and empty streets were suddenly illuminated, and amidst the sparks, Oliver saw his enemy descending through the air towards him, a black sword poised to slice him in half. Oliver acted quickly and pulled two arrows from his quiver before firing them at the same time upwards to his foe. He was almost positive he saw the widening of the things red eyes before being struck right through its chest by one arrow, and then Oliver's second arrow exploded right in front of its face in a brilliant shower of flames.

Oliver would have smirked as he saw the thing crash on a fire hydrant, but didn't as the thing immediately turned invisible the moment it hit the ground. This time, Oliver knew how to counter it.

"Felicity the lights!" He shouted into his ear piece, "Turn on all the street lights!"

"Gotcha." She answered firmly, Oliver was sure she had already learned the same thing he had. Not even a second later, all the dead lights that had surrounded the streets came to life. Not a single piece of gravel wasn't aglow, and Oliver saw in vivid detail exactly what he was fighting.

The thing was tall, at least 6 feet high, wearing a fabric as black as the night. Single black, sharp spikes were attached to its knees and elbows, making it look even deadlier. A sword as black as shadows was clenched in its right hand. It's clothing vaguely reminded Oliver of outfits that were used by the League of Assasins, only he doubted this thing was with them. Over its eyes was a red, transparent visor shaped like a v that seemed to enhance the glow of its blood red pupils.

It was then Oliver saw the small hole on its chest his arrow had made from before. It wasn't very deep, despite the fact most of his arrows could puncture car doors, but that wasn't what Oliver was concerned about. What got his attention was that inside the whole, tiny blue sparks flew from metal circuits embedded deep within the things body. Trickles of a black, thick liquid spilled down its chest onto the ground, and to Oliver, it looked like... Oil.

The events began to replay in his mind, and It was then Oliver knew exactly what he was fighting. Not a man, not some supernatural force that couldn't be explained or anything like he had faced in the past. What he was facing was a machine, a cold, lifeless, robot that had better skills and strength than anyone Oliver had faced before.

Adding in its clothing, it was a perfect ninja.

And it was simply standing there from across the street, looking at the lights and then to its now visible body, water from the hydrant flooding parts of the street, watching Oliver with its soulless eyes. Throughout the fight, the machine had done the same thing more than once, just staring at the vigilante without Oliver had felt like the machine in front of him had purposely given Oliver time to counter attack and think of new strategies to aid him. To the Arrow, it felt like this robot was testing him.

He didn't know why a machine would do that, but it would soon regret that decision.

Oliver fired three arrows at the ninja, but they never hit their target as the machine easily cleaved both arrows with a single swipe from his black sword. The ninja charged at Oliver so fast he made it across the street in seconds. Not having enough time to draw another arrow, Oliver raised his bow just as the sword-wielding robot brought its weapon down to Oliver's head.

The sheer strength the blow had was enough to force Oliver onto one knee as he grits his teeth. The sword had crashed into his bow overhead, but the machine still pressed its attack, its strength seeming to grow as it continued to push down on his bow. Oliver pushed with all his strength, trying to hold off the sword and lift his bow so he could stand up. But the robot was far stronger than him, continuing to push down on him until his bow and the sword on top of it were inches away from his face.

Thinking quickly, Oliver stopped pushing back and shifted his bow away from him. The ninja was not expecting Oliver to stop pushing so it stumbled, moving along with the bow as Oliver quickly stood up, hopped backwards so he was directly behind the ninja, and then loaded two arrows and fired them at the ninja's back.

The arrows struck true, piercing through metal as more sparks flew from its back. Unfortunately, like before his arrows weren't strong enough to penetrate too deeply as the robot quickly pulled them both out leaving tiny holes as it did so. Once again charging at Oliver with a burst of speed, the ninja was right on top of him, swinging its sword horizontally at Oliver's chest. Oliver leaned to the right and the sword just missed him, but the deadly machine wasn't done as it followed with an upward slash. He jumped backwards to avoid the strike, but the ninja followed suit, leaping towards the hooded vigilante and swinging his sword down at him.

Oliver had to twist his whole body around the sword, seeing his reflection on the blade as it passed his face, and was able to dodge it, quickly jumping away from the machine in order to gain some distance and to load his bow. But once again, the machine was on him, running towards the Arrow and attacking with his sword in precise and insanely quick swings. Oliver slipped underneath a strike that would have decapitated him, ducked underneath a horizontal chop that almost clipped his arm, and deflected a thrust that would have skewered him with his bow.

Oliver was forced to twist, dodge, and parry for the next two minutes, never slowing down even for a moment or else he would be dead. The sheer speed of the machine was astounding and left Oliver zero chances to counter attack. Oliver had tried to match the robot's speed, but he realized he was getting tired while his opponent was still in top condition. He knew he couldn't keep dodging forever, the sword was progressively coming dangerously close to skewering him. And then a thought struck him.

If he couldn't dodge it, he wouldn't.

Just as the ninja pulled back his sword before swinging it towards Oliver's face, he used his forearm to block the strike. The moment the sword landed, blood came sputtering out of Oliver's arm, and if it wasn't for the fact he had been tortured and lived through hell for years he would have screamed from the pain. He felt the sword cut deeply into his appendage, practically hitting bone as more blood flowed down the sword.

Not giving the ninja a chance to take back his weapon, Oliver used his remaining arm to reach behind him and grab an arrow from his quiver, and then slammed said the arrow right in the middle of the machine's eyes. Sparks surged to life as the ninja went to take the arrow out of his head, but before it could Oliver planted a hard kick against the metal monsters chest with enough force to cause it to skid a few feet along the streets. His leg felt like it just kicked a bus, but the point wasn't really to hurt the machine. The point was to kick it hard enough to send away from Oliver, who had taken the sword out of his arm and rolled away.

Just before the arrow exploded.

Oliver quickly got up as he saw the robot fly back and tumble on the streets. The pain his arm was growing as he tried to stop the blood from flowing with his other hand. He wasn't sure how deep the laceration was, but he would check later after making sure this ninja stayed down. The machine did not move or stir at all from the ground, it simply laid face down on the old streets, and Oliver hoped that it would stay down.

Of course, those hopes were quickly demolished when the robot simply stood up, the only noticeable damage being the burn marks on its metal skin and the hole Oliver had made in its visor when he stabbed it.

Oliver loaded another arrow, but as he did so he noticed that his quiver was running low on arrows. He grimaced, not sure if what he had left would take this machine out for good. And Sarah and John still needed his help so he had to hurry up or else they might not make it.

But if an explosion to the face didn't do it what would?

Oliver looked at the ninja down the street and noticed something strange. He saw the machine not staring at him. It seemed to be staring at one of the rooftops, Oliver turned his head and looked in the same direction, but saw nothing except shadows and roofs. Turning back to the machine, he was almost sure he saw it nod his head before its red eyes began to glow an even deeper red.

Before Oliver could react, the ninja jumped high into the air, disappearing from the world as it leaped above the lights on the streets. Oliver pulled back his bowstring as his eyes scanned the surrounding rooftops, but the machine was once again cloaked and it was impossible to tell where it went.

Suddenly, Oliver heard metal groaning and looked up to the top part of one of the street lights falling down towards him. He quickly ran to the right and avoided being crushed as the lamp hit the ground. Oliver looked up and saw that the street light had been cut down near the neck, leaving only its tall base as sparks flew from the destroyed lamp, and a sick feeling of dread so came over him just as another bright bulb fell to the ground only a few feet away.

The machine was cutting the bulbs from the street lights, intent on making itself invisible again, and Oliver saw the road slowly going darker as the lights began to fade. As another street light fell, Oliver fired his arrow just above the freshly destroyed lamp, but the only thing his projectile hit was the wall of a nearby building. The street was getting darker as Oliver began to sweat. Three more street lights fell to the ground and Olivier had to roll to avoid them before firing two more arrows at the spot where the lamps were cut. Two explosions erupted in the air but hit nothing as they slowly faded.

There were only two lights left illuminating the almost pitch black road.

Oliver was now standing underneath the two remaining street lights, eyes moving rapidly in all directions to try and find the ninja.

He didn't need to search for long.

The ninja was speeding under the area where the last two street lamps shone, not even caring that it was visible again, and rushed to Oliver; somehow moving even faster than before as it raised its black sword. Oliver didn't even get a chance to fire his arrow as the robot plunged his sword right at Oliver. The sword pierced through Olivers Kevlar like it was made of feathers as it stabbed into his chest.

Oliver coughed up a sickening amount of blood as the robot quickly pulled back its sword before swinging it again. This time, the sword slashed against Oliver's leg, a horrible wound opening as blood flowed down his leg. The pain was so intense Oliver could no longer stand as he dropped to one knee. The ninja then slammed a metallic fist right into Oliver's stomach, sending him skidding through the streets until he crashed into a car.

And as Oliver crumbled to the ground, blood pouring from his mouth, the ninja cut down both street lights at their bases, turning invisible as the lamps crashed into the ground.

Oliver's vision was starting to become blurry. He felt like he was falling, falling into a pit of never ending darkness. His ribs were shattered as his breathing became more erratic. His mind became hazy, almost all of his thoughts now gone, and he forgot where he was. He could hear his own heart rate grow slower by the second, his body growing colder. Try as he might, he could not get up, moving even a little bit sent intense spasms of pain through his muscles. His body was begging him to rest, to just stop fighting for once.

"Oliver?!" he heard someone shout, and in his daze, he wondered who that voice belonged to. "Oliver you need to get up!" Something clicked in his mind and Oliver remembered that the voice was Felicity's, and then he remembered the situation he was in. "Oliver please move!"

But he couldn't move, no matter how hard he tried. His body was exhausted, bleeding, and his enemy was too strong. His arrows were useless, he didn't even have the strength to lift his own bow. And with the ninja once again invisible, he had no way of knowing where the hell it even was. It was probably lurking in the shadows, not even seeing Oliver as a threat and expecting him to die from his injuries at any moment.

His eyes were becoming heavy, and he was having trouble keeping them open. Felicity kept shouting for him to fight, but his body wouldn't listen. He was breathing less and less with each second as more of his blood spilled onto the street. Maybe it was for the best he died here, no more fighting or struggling to save his city, instead, he would be in a never ending sleep where he could finally just stop. Where he could finally rest.

Oliver get up, please!" A small part of him still wanted to fight, wanted to listen to Felicity and get up as he had always done before. But he could feel that part of himself slowly fading to the darkness. His eyes were almost closed now. "Get up! Hurry up and kick that terminator's ass!"

Oliver's heartbeat was almost gone by now, his body no longer breathing as his eyes finally closed. And just as he was about to let his body finally get the rest and peace it deserved after so long, he heard a voice. And it wasn't Felicity's.

"Get up!" This voice was far rough and hoarse, commanding respect with just a single syllable. "Oliver you better get the hell up right now!"

Something inside Oliver woke up as his eyes shot open. He tilted his head upwards and saw someone he thought was long dead.

His former friend, Slade Wilson. He was wearing the same black clothing he had worn the day Oliver had met him, and both of his eyes were perfectly fine despite him stabbing an arrow into one of them.

"Are you seriously telling me that this is all you can do?" He looked down at Oliver with a snarl, glaring at Oliver with contempt in his eyes. "After all the training we did, all that practice with your damn bow, and after killing me, this how you're gonna end it!

Slade then crouched down so he was at eye-level with Oliver. "You did not go through hell just to be killed by some walking scrap pile, especially when you still have unfished business to attend to." He then pointed a finger at Oliver, then back to himself. "The man who killed me made a promise after he escaped that island, the same promise he made to Shado and everyone else that had died on that damn rock. He promised that he would alway fight and make sure no one else has to die, to get stronger to protect his beliefs and friends. Well, I don't see that man anywhere here, do you?"

Oliver was to exhausted to give a verbal answer, so instead he chose to glare at Slade, his eyes brimming with strength and determination a man in his condition should not have. Slade smirked at Oliver's expression. "That's what I wanted to hear." He then turned to look around the seemingly empty streets. "You don't have to see your opponent to hit him. Hell, you don't even need any of your other senses to know where that piece of shit is. All you need is your instincts; they'll tell you were that robot's at."

Slade's eyes narrowed as his face turned deadly serious. "Listen to your gut, it's already saved you when the thing tried to sneak up on you. A real warrior's instincts will never fail him. You've fought this thing for so long, you should be able to get inside it's head and predict where it will strike. So use all the experience you've gathered from fighting for so long, combine that with your instincts and figure out where that bastard will try to attack from. And if you can't, then I swear when you get to hell I will beat the living crap out of you."

Slade then walked away from Oliver, and without turning around gave Oliver one last message. "I know you can do this Oliver, so listen to your girlfriend already and stand up." He couldn't see Slade's face, but he was sure Slade was smiling.

And when Oliver blinked, Slade was gone. He had no idea how much time had passed, but felicity was still shouting at him to fight. So not wasting another minute, Oliver was able to push past all his pain, and shakily stood up on his feet.

"Oh thank god." He could hear Felicity sigh in relief as he stood. "I thought you were dead."

"I'm getting there." He responded, covering his mouth so he wouldn't vomit any more blood.

"Oliver you need to get out of there now!" Her voice was so full of worry Oliver could almost feel it through his ear piece. "Just for a bit, just to get away from this thing to form some kind of plan."

"Felicity, I already have a plan to beat it." Oliver had dropped his bow and quiver as he walked into the center of the street.

"...Is it a good one?"

"It's my only one."

"...Okay, go for it." The amount of confidence in her voice surprised him. "I know you can do it , Oliver... I just really hope to God you don't die tonight."

"I won't." he was now standing in the center of the street, with no bow, no arrows, and blood leaking in buckets down his body. His mind hazy, his muscles on fire, he stood and did nothing for several seconds. To the ninja, it probably looked like he had gone mad, and he would be lying if he said his plan was completely sane. But he would listen to his instincts, confident he would succeed.

And so he closed his eyes and waited.

The only sound he heard was the wind blowing through the streets. Oliver had tuned out everything, no longer using his senses to guide him and instead followed something more primal. Instincts that had been hardened by years of combat, instincts that had become entwined with his very being. He waited for the moment they would tell him to move and strike, waited for them to send the alarm down his nerves that the robot was about to kill him. They had saved him before countless times, even at the beginning of this fight, so he just needed them to work one more time and end this once and for all.

And then he felt it.

The way every hair on his body stood up in an instant, and the way his mind that was so cloudy suddenly alerted him to an invisible, crushing pressure. His heart that had been so slow and almost dead suddenly exploded as it hammered against his chest. His instincts were going beyond his own body's limits and telling him to do one thing.

Move.

So he did.

He turned around in a burst of speed and suddenly slammed his palms together just an inch above his head. His hands suddenly bled as they clenched against something invisible, his body having trouble supporting the immense weight that had suddenly been placed on it.

And then blue sparks flew from seemingly nowhere and the ninja reappeared. Its clothing was such a dark shade of black, the only thing Oliver could see were its blood red eyes wide in surprise.

For Oliver had grabbed its sword just before it could slice open his head.

Before the ninja could react, Oliver yanked the sword by the blade away from the ninja's grip, tossed the pitch black sword into the air before grabbing onto its handle with one hand, and then swinging the sword with all his strength and a mighty shout.

Oil erupted from the ninja's body, cascading down like rain as Oliver let out a shaky breath he did not know he was holding in.

The sword had cut through the ninja with ease, its head decapitated and rolling on the street. It's blood red eyes had faded and lost the spark that had made the so terrifying. But it's body still stood up, not collapsing even though it lost it's head as more oil burst from the wound upwards into the air.

Oliver stared at the body, ignoring the oil raining down on him as it mixed with his blood and sweat. He still had trouble believing he actually done it, but he slowly realized he did do it.

He had beaten the toughest enemy he had ever faced.

He would have laughed if he didn't immediately start coughing violently, falling to his knees as he used the black sword to prevent him from collapsing.

"Holy shit, Oliver," Felicity's voice was a welcomed distraction from his pain. "That was just... Wow."

"Where are John and Sarah?" He asked, trying to use the sword to push himself back up.

"Their right where we started, still in position." She said, "They need medical attention ASAP, I'm on my way down there to help you.

"Thank you," Oliver muttered, getting up with the sword still in his hand as he walked towards the back of the factory to get John first. He picked up his discarded bow and arrows as he went back to the factory.

Though there was one thought that ate away at his brain as he continued to limp forward, where was the samurai?

A Samurai's Journey

(At the same time)

Jack was bleeding, clothes ripped, sword held tightly in his hands as he glared at the enemy in front of him. A fire had been lit in his soul as he raised his sword.

"If you think I am beaten." He started, voice laced with anger and a burning resolve that would not be extinguished. He clutched his sword tightly as his foe smirked, " You are wrong."

With a determination unlike anything he had felt before, Jack roared and ran towards his opponent who did the same.

Chapter V: End

Guess whose back everyone! I know it has been a while, okay more like its been ages, but I finally updated this story! I really wanted to finish this chapter sooner, but life got in the way. I was so busy with stuff I've haven't had time to write or even check on my own stories. But anyway, I just want to say all the wonderful readers who still stuck around waiting for the next chapter. And In case you couldn't tell, this chapter takes place after "Time of Death" but before "The promise". Jack wasn't in this one but he definitely will be in the next.

I had a lot of fun writing this chapter. I'm sure Samurai Jack fans realized the robot Oliver was fighting was the infamous Ninja, and I'm sure you're all wondering how he came back. I'm also sure you're wondering what happened to Nyssa. I can't answer those questions now, but they will be answered eventually. Though I'm sure some of you already figured out what's going on. A lot of people were probably worried that this story was long dead, but I can promise you this story will have a proper conclusion.

So, as usual, leave your thoughts about this chapter in the comments below, and until next time this is The Black Mage of Phantasm signing off. Peace!